(ThyBlackMan.com) In November 2007, Ubisoft dropped the first Assassin’s Creed for PlayStation 3, PC and Xbox 360. The open-world adventure really pushed the boundaries for action and adventure as far as gameplay mechanics, scale, and longevity. Around this time, action games had gotten much better but they were still pretty cookie-cutter with an emphasis on large combos and blood.
Also, QTEs—quick time events—was here to stay. I’ve never been a fan of them but when hits like God of War or Mass Effect includes them, the mechanic is here to stay. To quote Ric Flair, developers were like “Whether you like it or you don’t like it, learn to love it.” Honestly, that’s the case with any changes or mechanics a developer includes in a game.
For now, let’s look at the five best things about the Assassin’s Creed franchise.
Assassin’s Creed Has Always Been Big On Scale
Even with the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Valhalla being smaller—and shorter—than Origins, it’s still going to be a sizable game. Even if it’s
as big as AC3 or Black Flag, it would still have a pretty big world. What’s important is what all you’re able to do in the game world. That said, depending on the game the amount of stuff to do in the large game worlds created by Ubisoft varies but never have they been super sparse.
Development’s Research Is The Gold Standard
Since Ubisoft Montreal focuses on history for Assassin’s Creed—and culture/city design for Watch Dogs—Ubisoft tends to be one of the least problematic developers when it comes to accuracy in a game. Mind you, they traffic in historical fiction/alternate history as the back drop for their stories, they tend to be the most on point with the base setting of a title that other developers.
This extends to accents and voice actors to authentically capture accents as well as character personalities.
The Historical Setting of the Series
Along with the scale of the games, the setting is another bright point in AC. It gives fans something to debate and discuss between games which means buzz for the next title. Think of it as players trying to figure out where the next Grand Theft Auto will take place—only AC is more consistent with releases.
Also, when it comes to playing Assassin’s Creed, the best part is the historical parts when playing as an ancestor. It’s been 13 years since the franchise started and I still don’t care about playing as the character unraveling secrets about ancestor.
However…
Abstergo Is A Great Nefarious Villain
As much as I didn’t care about what Desmond Miles was into or any of this storyline successors do in regards to dealing with Abstergo, the company makes for an incredible, looming villain. It’s as if the Legion of Doom had roots so deep that they’re able to grow in the public’s eye while doing various shady things behind the scenes.
Abstergo is the ultimate villain in Ubisoft games. So much so that they could be a villain in the Watch Dogs franchise easily.
The Main Characters Become More Interesting With Each Game
AC is a franchise where each game has a different main character. I’m talking about the actual main character. Writing bolsters this because sometimes, at the core even the main character is as interesting as chalk dust. The only contention here is with Kenway of Black Flag and Connor from ACIII—grandfather and grandson respectively.
Neither are the most interesting and actually Haytham—the son of Kenway, father of Connor—is more interesting. Eh, you can’t strike gold all the time.
Staff Writer; M. Swift
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.
